Picks, or "plectrums," are commonly used by musicians to play stringed instruments. A conventional pick is generally comprised of a plate-like structure that is usually triangular in shape. The plate-like structure typically includes a gripping region consisting of opposing gripping surfaces, which enables the musician to grasp the pick between his or her thumb and forefinger, and a tip having opposing striking surfaces for impacting the strings of a stringed instrument. Gripping the pick, the musician can repeatedly pluck the strings on an instrument with the striking surfaces in order to produce sound from the instrument.
The design and structure of the conventional pick has been varied widely as changes in geometric features and materials can alter the acoustic properties of the pick, as well as, facilitate use of the pick by a musician. U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,614 to Cavallo; U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,372 to Filipetti; U.S. Pat. No. 4,398,444 to Walker; U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,160 to Picciochi; U.S. Pat. No. 5,253,562 to Kline; U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,715 to Hucek; U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,609 to Acocella; U.S. Pat. No. Des. 330,905; and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 358,833 to Ridley et al., all disclose variations from the conventional pick such as, for example, multiple tips and striking surfaces. However, conventional guitar picks share a common weakness in that they fail to provide adequate structure for enabling the user to grip and control the pick. Thus, a need exists in the field of musical instruments for an improvement over the conventional plate-like pick that provides the musician with positive grip and greater control over motion of the pick.